Seattle

My work routine (routine is probably not a good description of my job, thank goodness) often sees me driving past downtown Seattle on either I-5 or the viaduct (may it eventually rest in peace), or catching glimpses of it from distant shores (or ferry boats), but it rarely offers me chances to actually go downtown. But a morning meeting was a chance to grab coffee and check out the 17th floor of the Russell Investments Building before the sun could even peak around the corner. And then I came back with colleagues to eat our deli lunches a few hours later.

What a cool space - and how cool that it is both public and free! Thank you. Unlike the Space needle and the Columbia Tower, you don't have to pay amusement park ride prices to visit. But you do have to know about it - and I had learned of it only a few weeks before.

There is plenty of space, both inside and out -- and I had it almost to myself at 8 in the morning (not so much at lunch time). The outdoor space is larger than many neighborhood parks, although it isn't well suited for tossing a frisbee. The roof deck is only on the 17th floor (measured from 2nd Avenue, higher if seen from 1st), but it feels higher. The Russell Investments Center rises 42 floors above the Seattle Art Museum, with which it shares the block.